Former Iranian Oil Minister Summoned Over "Unhealthy Gasoline"

Former oil minister Massoud MirKazemi has been summoned to court after a suit was filed against him for ordering the production of "unhealthy gasoline."

Former Iranian Oil Minister Massoud MirKazemi

Peyman Hajmahmoud Attar told ILNA that he and two of his colleagues filed a suit last June in connection with "the production of unhealthy gasoline."

Massoud MirKazemi, who was oil minister from 2009 to 2011, is being accused of "acting against public health and well-being." The report indicates that representatives from the Ministry of Health and the Department of the Environment have been enlisted to investigate the charge.

Result of non-standard
gasoline (cartoon by Farhad Bahrami, Arman daily)

Four years ago, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's administration transferred the production of gasoline to petrochemical plants after international sanctions imposed on Iran kept the country from importing gasoline. At the time, Iran was only capable of producing half of its gasoline needs due to limited refining capacity.

Despite concerns regarding the health effects of gasoline produced by petrochemical factories, the Ministry of Oil, then under MirKazemi's control, insisted that the fuel met necessary standards.

Last May, the Department of the Environment announced that gasoline produced by petrochemical factories causes cancer and all gasoline production by these facilities was halted by the current oil minister, Bijan Zanganeh.

MirKazemi has denied the charges against him and says he has filed a suit against the three complainants, accusing them of "publishing falsehoods and disturbing the public." He claims that the production of gasoline in these petrochemical units was a "revolutionary act" and a result of tireless efforts by the oil industry staff to address the gasoline shortage imposed on the country by the U.S. and Western sanctions.